TWENTY FIVE

(Seorin's POV)

   There was absolute silence in the room. I glanced over at Sehun who was staring at his phone and biting his lip nervously. The others were eyeing us in silence like they weren't sure how to address the situation.

  "I'm sorry we made this mess," I blurted out, unable to stand the silence any longer. "I'll make it right somehow."

  Sehun looked up. "It isn't your fault," he said "I was the one who asked you to dinner."

   "But I was the one who held your hand to compare the sizes," I pointed out.

  "That wouldn't have happened if I hadn't- we should've stayed at home..." Sehun sighed.

   Yes. Clearly, I'm not worthy of you according to your fans, I thought somewhat bitterly, though I knew that was not what he meant. I didn't reply and slumped down in my chair, felling guilty.

   "It's none of your faults," Suho said sensing the guilt in the atmosphere. "Stop blaming yourselves."

  "Our fans' deductive powers scare me sometimes," Sehun said with a tight smile.

  "I know, right?" Kai put in "How in the world do they dig up all sorts of evidence for everything? They even recognized Seorin from that video. They're better than Sherlock Holmes." He shook his head.

  "Fans have the knack for these sort of things," Baekhyun said. "But enough on that. What are we going to do?"

  "At least they didn't find out Seorin's living with us," Xiumin said "Or all hell would have broken loose."

  "Nevertheless, manager hyung's going to kill us," said Suho just as his phone started ringing. "Speak of the devil," he said and picked up the call. My stomach knotted in apprehension. Suho listened for a few minutes and said, "Ok hyung. I'll talk with him."

  We all looked at him expectantly as he pushed his phone into his pocket. "Well, manager hyung said he isn't going to kill us," Suho said "But he wants us to talk and decide what to do next about the rumours." He gave Sehun and me a look.

 "Uh why are you looking at me like that?" Sehun asked bluntly.

  "You guys need to decide what you want to do about the rumours," Suho explained "You can either deny them, or not." He stressed on 'not' and gave Sehun a knowing look. I glanced at Sehun in confusion.

  He was blinking like he was just coming to an understanding. My heart gave an odd, excited thump. Is he going to?? Omg what if he-?? I looked at him expectantly, my heart beating wildly. Sehun looked at me for a long moment and then turned to Suho.

  "But we are not in a relationship," he said and my heart plummeted to the floor. What was I even expecting??! I silently cursed myself and bit my lip against the sharp spike of hurt I felt. Stop being delusional!! Sehun turned back to me. "Right?," he asked, not meeting my eyes.

   I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Um yeah, no totally," I said plastering a smile on my face. The others looked at the two of us with odd looks on their faces. "Yeah, I mean we aren't a couple or anything. Right?" I glanced at Sehun.

  "Yeah," he said nodding furiously "Like, we are not like that. I mean, that would be crazy."

  It would? I looked at him silently for a second and then dragged up a laugh. It sounded weird even to my own ears. "Obviously. I mean, the two of us? A couple? That's hilarious!!!"

  It was Sehun's turn to look at me silently and he too suddenly burst into a fit of crazy laughter. It sounded even more weirder than mine. "Us dating would be like heaven burning or hell freezing over," he laughed "It has zero possibility."

 I started doubling up with more crazy laughter. My eyes stung, though from the laughter or from the hurt, I wasn't sure. The other members were looking at us wearing worried expressions. "I know right?!" I said "We're like poles apart! You're so stubborn and cold."

  "And you're so stupid and annoying !" Sehun shot right back with tears in his eyes from the laughter-I think. "We would drive each other crazy."

  You already do... And you're tearing my heart to pieces.

   "Are you two ok?" Chanyeol asked, his brow furrowed.

  "We're fine," I assured him, leaning back against the backrest and drawing a hand across my eyes. Do. Not. Cry. 

  "Are you sure?" Chanyeol pressed "Because you don't-" Luckily, before he could continue, my phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID. It was A-yeong. The last thing I wanted was to have her drill me for all the details of the rumours, but I desperately needed to get out of that room.

  "I need to take this," I said, getting up and headed towards my room.

(Sehun's POV)

  As soon as Seorin's door closed with a click, the others whirled around to face me.

  "What the hell was all that about??!" hissed Chen "With all the crazy laughing?!"

  "I don't know," I groaned, rubbing at my teary eyes wearily "It just sort of happened..."

  Xiumin sighed. "It was an opportunity for you to actually make things real between you two. But you had to blow it."

  "Hey, I was thinking of all of us when I did that," I protested "I don't want to make things any worse than they already are."

  "Things will die down after some time. They always do. But what about your happiness?" Suho asked.

  "You guys are my happiness," I said and was met by a long silence.

  "That, was extremely cheesy," Baekhyun said, though I could tell that he was touched. "But we appreciate the sentiment. Though you were almost as cringy as Suho hyung. Almost."

  "Yah!" Suho wacked him playfully and the others laughed. I cracked a smile, the feeling of apprehension I'd been feeling lift slightly. "We will be alright," Suho said to me. "But you need to get her before someone else does."

  Like that Ji Hun. But I sighed. "I don't think she likes me though. She said that I'm cold and stubborn." I tried to forget the prick of hurt I felt when she said that. I knew I wasn't the best guy at being openly warm, but she had to know that I cared about a lot of things inside, right?

  "Yeah. And YOU called her stupid and annoying," D.O pointed out with raised eyebrows. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that helps her to understand your feelings."  I groaned loudly and buried my face in my hands.

  "And you also said that you guys dating would be like heaven burning or hell freezing over, remember?" Chanyeol put in "You really went overboard with that." He tugged my ear lightly as I groaned even more loudly.

  "Well, you can't do anything about that now," Lay said "Are you really going to deny the rumours?"

  "Yes, manager hyung said that they wanted your decision in an hour," Suho said.

  "Whatever you decide to do, you know we've got your back right?" Kai asked "Just listen to what your heart says." Listen to your heart. Someone else had told me that some time ago; the wise old lady who helped me give Seorin a bubble tea.

  What does my heart say? My heart wants to confess my feelings to Seorin and deny them at the same time. I hated feeling so confused. I couldn't very well choose between Seorin and Exo. I could never choose between two things I loved. But what if I didn't choose?

  Just then, Suho's phone began to ring. He glanced at it and handed the phone to me. "It's manager hyung," he said. I bit my lip nervously and took the phone.

  "Sehun have you decided what to do?" manager hyung asked "They won't ask about your personal life, but they need to do something about the rumours and stuff, you know. So what do you want to do?"

  I glanced over at my fellow members. I can't choose, so I'm not going to. "So, this is going to sound weird but..." I started telling the manager.

.  .  . 

SM  ENTERTAINMENT- OFFICIAL STATEMENT

This statement is regarding the rumours regarding Exo's Sehun. We have no official stance towards it. We kindly ask fans to continue to support him as before. We also ask everyone not to spread malicious comments and rumours about him or any other artist under our comapany as strict legal action will be taken. Thank you.

.  .  .

(A/N) It's a weird chapter lol. If you're wondering why on earth Sehun and Seorin are laughing like maniacs, that's because it can actually happen. Like when you are trying to deny what you are really feeling and lie to yourself that it doesn't hurt. Mostly, it happens when you are feeling confused and don't know how to react to the situation. So, if you're hurting, just let it out <3